[HALLOWEEN MINI GAME] The Hunt [Prizes, page 2]

[Shanyume]

Let's see how much RNG dislikes me today.  

[Indigo_Plateau]

prompt

Strange talismans are hanging, hidden, in the tree branches in the forest. They are easy to miss, but there's something ominous about them; they are small strips of leather and wood and are marked with carvings, ink, and a strange brown stain. It is impossible to read anything on these talismans, but there is something obviously old and unnerving about them. Sometimes, when you pull one from the tree, a strange gust of wind reaches you despite none of the branches in the forest moving. In the distance, sometimes it feels like cold eyes on you. Oddly, the more talismans you recover, the more light seems to filter through the trees--at least, for a moment. There's no indication who put these talismans up, or what their purpose is. Pulling them may do as much harm as good, but there's only one way to find out what they're capable of and what their purpose is.

Rakovanite didn't like the forest.

When they had first arrived in the village and all he could see was an endless expanse of trees in every direction, he had known then that he didn't appreciate being boxed in. Theoretically, they should be able to make their way through the wood. There should be an 'end' to the trees somewhere, a way for them to get away from this village. Except there wasn't. The forest looped endlessly, trapping any who'd arrived within sight of the village, always. The trees were just the bounds of their cage.

The forest was still part of the locale. There could be useful resources and information in the woods. Maybe they could find the monster's lair or where it hid the bodies of those it took. And even if not, the area was still lush with wood, foliage, stone, and food that could be harvested for survival. It was an environment they should make use of.

But Rakovanite would not. He would not go and batter against the walls of their metaphoric cage, looking for answers and only succeeding in being taunted by how trapped they were. Rakovanite was too proud for that. He didn't need to endure further upset.

"I don't want to go by myself," Cervantite grumbled as he scrabbled to grab hold of Rakovanite's arm, much to the agent's disdain. "I dunno what's out there, and you dunno what's out there, so why should we risk it? At least if we go together-"

"We will be able to die together?" Rakovanite supplied, brow quirked.

"No, I wasn't going to say that! If we go together and get attacked, you can just teleport away, and still at least know what happened to me. Isn't that better than me going alone and just not showing back up later?"

It was a particularly thought-out argument, from his brother. More than Rakovanite would have thought Cervantite was capable of. It wasn't quite enough to fully win him, but an 'A for effort,' for sure. "I feel like I would just assume what happened to you whether I saw it or not. The danger at this point seems obvious."

"But you wouldn't know," Cervantite retorted. "You wouldn't know if it was the monster everyone has been seeing, or if there is something else in the woods that can lure people away. ...Or if it was the White Moon picking people off while they have the chance."

"Hm."

He doubted it. Rakovanite expected the animosity possessed by the White Moon that would enable them to strike in this situation was severely limited. And while he did not personally converse with many outside their bunking group, both Cervantite and Narcissus did. Neither had mentioned that anyone spoke of additional apparitions. Rakovanite doubted those alternatives were plausible.

...But they weren't impossible, and he didn't know that they couldn't happen.

He agreed to escort Cervantite to the edge of the trees, where his little brother would be able to pick berries from the bushes while Rakovanite looked on with his arms crossed. In his adamant desire to avoid the woods, he'd never taken much opportunity to see them. He knew that he didn't like them. They didn't deserve so much of his attention. But given his current proximity, his gaze couldn't help but wander.

Dense, dark, and deep. There was nothing inviting about the trees, no wonder of nature or rustle of wind. Nothing moved. It was like looking at an eerie painting.

But he thought, among all the dark branches and still leaves, he might have seen something out of place.

With a quick look to make sure Cervantite was still near, Rakovanite moved toward one of the trees. He hopped, propelling himself up onto a branch and crouching low and close to the trunk. There was some sort of painted talisman here. He reached to pull it from the branch, and it felt as though a chill swept through him.

Was this something those from the past had tried to use to ward off the creature? It hadn't worked, if so... With a crinkle of his nose, Rakovanite turned it over in his hand, inspecting it.

---

When Cervantite looked up, his brother was not where he'd left him. A quick jolt of fright arced through his heart, making him jump, until his gaze landed on a dark figure in the trees, crouched on a branch. Rakovanite's stupid Negaverse uniform made him barely even discernable among the dark backdrop of the forest, but his bright shock of green hair was significantly more noticeable.

Cenvantite slunk to stand beneath the branch, peering up through narrowed eyes. "What are you doing," he asked incredulously. "Did you see something?"

Rakovanite dropped what he held, and it fell to land draped across Cervantite's head. In the moment, he'd feared it was some kind of bug, and he wrenched away with a yip and more force than was absolutely necessary. As the thing slipped to the ground, he realized it had been a dumb thought to think that Nat would just be out inspecting and picking up bugs for no reason.

...Strange scraps of leather were much more reasonable.

"Uh..." He bent to retrieve it, picking the strange swatch of fabric up precariously between two fingers. "What is it?" Some kind of crafted talisman? It was made of leather which was totally bizarre, since they hadn't seen any cows or animals of any kind here... It was inked and stamped, hinting at commodities that may have existed that they hadn't found yet. Tools to write and leatherwork.

That this was was here in the trees had to mean something, though Cervantite couldn't say exactly what. Maybe it warded the monster off. Or toward them. Holding it, Cervantite thought he felt an eerie sensation similar to what he'd felt when they'd first arrived.

Something was off. Something made him want to seek shelter.

"There are more," Rakovanite murmured quietly, notching his head in the direction of a nearby tree.

Cervantite's eyes were really starting to be troublesome with how long his contacts had been in, but if he squinted through the darkness and scanned the area around him, he could see a very, very slight something where his brother had indicated. He immediately moved toward it. Even if they didn't know what these things were, they were something! Maybe someone else had taken some archaic language course at school and could read what these etchings meant...

Sure enough, the second looked similar, though not identical. This one was made of wood. He wondered if they served different purposes or meant different things.

As he pulled it from the tree, a shudder rippled through him. The light in the forest seemed to almost flicker, and there may have been a rumble of sound from somewhere far off. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? The monster only came out at night, so if it didn't like the light, and taking the talismans made the forest feel brighter... But then keeping them with him in their home might make it darker.

He didn't know what to do.

But if they wanted to find out the effects, they'd have to take more. "Let's see if we can find a few more," Cervantite suggested, tone wavering in uncertainty. "Maybe we can see if any of them match or how many different ones there are. We should at least try to see if they do something. It's... one of the only clues we've got, isn't it? Nat?"

"I am unsure if that is wise," Rakovanite answered demurely. "But I suppose it would be best to try and learn what we can. I will direct you towards any I see, if you want to retrieve them."

They collected a handful of scattered talismans. Rakovanite was still unwilling to go too deep into the forest, but there were enough on the outskirts that they scraped together a small collection of leather scraps and wood carvings. But even with them all bundled together, answers didn't immediately present themselves. They argued over whether or not they should keep them in their shelter, but ultimately agreed they should see what effect, if any, they would have there.

Narci would probably freak. Cervantite couldn't wait to shove one under the ferrety man's nose just to see him jump.  

[Noir Songbird]

Elsa was, in a word, a fool. He knew that for certain when he decided that he would dive into the woods surrounding this strange little town. It felt like the type of decision a character in a horror movie made shortly before getting got by whatever nasty supernatural or human entity was lurking in the dark, between the trees. Still, it was important to know what was here--and he made a tiny, thoughtful noise when his eyes fell on the strange charms, hanging from the trees.

He wasn't exactly super familiar with the occult, he could admit that. It had never been his thing, not even once he was Awakened as a Senshi and learned that he embodied a terrible beast out of Algonquian legend, a stalker of woods like these that sought human prey even though the Wendigo had once been human itself. Even with the fact that he was apparently intrinsically tied to a monster that stalked the frigid winter darkness, digging deeper, beyond learning as much as he could about his sphere, never really appealed to him. He just didn't see a purpose to it; it wasn't like the sort of magic that lurked in spells and charms was real. The kind of magic he and other powered folk used was different than that; something that came from within you and required no more special objects to work than a Senshi's henshin pen--which was half magic and half tech, as he understood it, anyway. So signs carved into doorframes or special incantations written on the right kind of paper never seemed worth learning about to him, except as a historical or philosophical curiosity.

He had, perhaps, been hasty to dismiss it. Here, in front of him, was something that looked like some kind of talisman--and there were many of them. So, so many, he couldn't even begin to count, and he could see other people reaching up to gather them. And maybe, at the least, charms and totems and such wouldn't work back in Destiny City, but this wasn't Destiny City. Whatever pocket realm they were trapped in, they were far from home, and the rules might well be thoroughly different. So it seemed only prudent to try to collect some charms. Especially when it felt as if there were eyes on him, watching, seeking, from the depths of the forest...and Elsa could not identify where they were. That was the worst of it; knowing,kl soul-deep, that something was watching, waiting for him to make a mistake, and not being able to see where it was.

It sent a chill down his spine that had nothing to do with the temperature of the area around him. This whole place was terrible, and he didn't want to linger long, but he had to make sure he collected at least a few of these charms. Especially because he was sure that dark would eventually start to encroach, and Elsa did not want to find out what terrible things lurked in this place after dark. It was bad enough in the daylight; no need to press his luck. Certainly no need to do it alone; ifg he wanted to brave the night in this place, he was pretty sure that he'd want to do it with other people there, just in case whatever lurked was hungry.

As he plucked the first one, he felt a gust of wind rush around him, stirring his hair and making the transparent fabric that draped off his uniform flutter. He wrinkled his nose, and looked--and none of the other branches seemed to have moved. That was...odd. Elsa wasn't sure he liked it. Still, it might not be a bad sign; especially not when he swore he saw light breaking through the forest canopy just a little brighter as he wrapped the talisman around his wrist.

He wished he had some kind of bag to put them in; obviously, he didn't intend to take just one, and it would be much easier to carry them that way. Still, his wrists would do as a place to ring them, since they had their little strings attached and he could make that into a loop.

It was a somewhat involved process, for Elsa, not the least because at his height, he had to strain to reach some of the ones tucked in higher branches, even going so far as to make use of his powered strength and jump height to climb up into the trees and recover ones that would otherwise be out of his reach. He knew, of course, that this could all turn out to be folly. It might be that these little talismans were more dangerous than they were helpful, but that wasn't something he wanted to think too hard about. Not when the woods felt like they were encroaching, closing in around him as he plucked his sixth one off the branches. It felt....wrong, to try and take too many more, so he stopped there, and let out a breath.

Perhaps it was a good thing that he didn't think he could see too many more, hanging there. If he was doing something foolish, something that would make their terrible situation worse, at least he'd only taken a few of what were undoubtedly dozens of talismans. Maybe, if they were meant to keep something in, or away, the protection would hold.

Maybe if they were some kind of lure, the meager number he carried wouldn't be enough.

He was curious, he had to admit. Whatever these were, they were a sign that at some point, there had been life here. Someone, or something, had made these. Made them and left them, like gifts to whoever came later. He wanted to believe that was their purpose; not to harm, but to help, and maybe to act as a warning from whoever had lived here before.

Maybe they would offer just a sliver more protection against whatever lurked in the dark.

[1003 words]  

[Sami-Fire]

yeets a puffski at the RNG  

[Epine de Rose]

Athalia - Senshi of Hercules Beetles

In the end there remained one simple truth that was otherwise inevitable; if you gave in to anguish and knelt in the face of seemingly odds, then you would never be open to the endless possibilities that might lay just beyond your sight.

If he was to succeed then it stood to reason that he would have to make this happen. With one breath and one step at a time he needed to push himself beyond the experiences that had left much deeper scars on his psyche than he had imagined possible. He needed to find reason in a world of chaos and uncertainty, and in doing so he would find what he lost. This was what he had come to realise as he watched one of the Mauvians go about her day; one by one as each of them had succumbed to the effects of the world around them, she had driven herself to be their 'light' until such a time as they found a way to shine on their own again.

...It had been this drive that had knocked at least some sense in to him, either that or her otherwise questionable cooking had achieved it.

He'd broken his cardinal rule this morning as a result and without providing any of them with warning he had slipped out into the early morning 'light' to explore. With his lips pressed firmly together, he had steeled himself and strode back towards the forest that had been the source of such despair. This morning would be the morning that he didn't bow, it would be the morning that he stared into the eyes of whatever that was and won. Either that, or he'd die trying, on this occasion he would find a way to draw upon his own determination and sheer stubborness.

He strode towards the forest's edge with considerable purpose and without much hesitation he slipped into the depths. Here and there the faint cracking or tumbling of twigs caught his attention, but for the most part he wouldn't be dissuaded from his course. He hadn't succeeded the other times but if he was forceful enough he might manage to get through this damn mist once and for all.

Unsurprisingly the mist was less considerate of his intentions and he was soon deposited outside of it again, greeted by the sight of the village nearby. A disgruntled sigh and he strode back in once more in a dance that would repeat several times before he finally turned his attention away from the ambient 'noise' of tumbling, weakened twigs, and paid attention to what lay around him.

At first nothing of note caught his eye but as he wandered, otherwise engaged and largely unconcerned with where he had stumbled into the forest he was finally presented with something. Hanging upon a weathered branch and scarcely visible, a talisman could be seen. He wasn't quite sure what it was but as he drew nearer to inspect it he took note of what lay upon it, strange carvings, ink and peculiar stains. For all intents and purposes it was as though he had been presented with witchcraft and it took everything within him to ignore his gut.

The twisting and coiling of uncertainty.

It had plagued him for days and now...

He reached out a hand and tugged the talisman from the tree to inspect it, at first nothing happened, but as he wandered and stumbled upon more of them, he began to feel 'life'. A wind he hadn't felt before touch upon his limbs and though none of the branches seemed to move, with each talisman that was 'dismantled' a little more light shone from within the canopy.

Though eyes seemed to follow him with each step, the more talismans he pulled from the trees and the more light that slipped into the forest floor beneath, the easier he found it to ignore the overwhelming sense of dread.

If this was a curse and removing these trinkets could dispel it then it served to reason that with continued efforts, those of them that remained could perhaps find a way to break it.

With his hands filled with the peculiar trinkets he finally turned on his heels and made his way back towards the forest's edge, a small smile upon his lips as he headed 'home'. For the first time in days, if not weeks, Athalia was feeling a touch more optmistic.

Maybe there was hope after all.  

[EchosSweet]

heart

Narcissus was wary of traveling too far from the odd bunk he'd claimed as a shelter. He knew it was a ridiculous thought. He was sure he was no safer there than... probably literally anywhere else in the village. But having walls around him felt like security, and he wanted that feeling, since it had been missing immediately upon his arrival into this strange village.

But staying sequestered inside didn't do much to help him. Any rations available to them were outside those walls, in the nearby garden or in the bizarre meat storage unit. Any materials for reinforcing their shelter needed to be scavenged from the woods or taken from other, fallen homes. Herbs for medicines and soaps, fibers for sewing and knitting, blankets for warmth: all these things needed to be scavenged. Nothing was just available to them. And the way to freedom wouldn't present itself if he stayed hidden away.

No matter how safe it felt, it was no good physically or mentally to hide inside for long stretches of time.

Narcissus warily made his way toward the trees. He'd heard that it was impossible to go very far, that even someone who tried to flee through the forest wold find that they never lost sight of the village. Even though the thought of being trapped in some infinite loop between here and home left him unnerved, he also thought the forest was where the most resources could be gathered.

They'd need wood for fires. That would keep them warm and make sure they could at least cook whatever food there was. He could gather some mushrooms and fruits, and maybe he could find some stones to help strengthen the barricades with...

He'd never been more grateful for the boost to his speed and stamina and jumping that came with being a senshi. If he heard an inexplicable sound, he could flee from it, faster than he could even begin to hope for as a civilian. When he saw a particularly shapely branch, he could just snap it off. When he saw fruit dangling from branches high over his head, he could just leap into the air to retrieve them. No ladders, no climbing.

If he saw something else in the trees...

It had practically been dangling in his face when he'd jumped to snatch at something that looked miraculously like an apple. Narcissus had caught the fruit, but his focus remained on the tree, squinting upward into the dark leaves as his gaze hunted for that strange thing he'd caught a glimpse of.

He leaped again, and this time, when he dropped to the ground, he was holding some kind of... talisman? It was just a strip of plain wood, with some indescribable etchings scratched into the surface. If they were letters, they weren't any Narcissus recognized. And if they were something else...

Well, none of it was anything Narcissus recognized, admittedly, and holding it made a shudder crawl up his spine.

Someone had made this.

That had to be true. Narcissus hadn't gotten a great glimpse of the monster, but he somehow doubted it had the dexterity to make such small, intricate carvings. So... something else must have been here at one point. Judging by how old this thing looked, it must have been quite a long while ago, though...

The wind picked up, causing Narcissus' hair to snap into his face and for the fabric of his top to flap wildly for a brief moment. Everything else was still, and as Narcissus tucked his hair out of his eyes, he thought he caught just a fleeting glimpse of something looking at him through the trees. He sucked in a startled breath and clutched the talisman closer, as if it might protect him.

But if there was something there, it was gone with his next blink.

He didn't know if pulling this thing down had summoned it, or if it was keeping it away from him now, but since the strange wood block was already in his possession, and the damage was already done, it seemed wisest not to leave it out here in the open... He just hoped it wasn't a bad omen.

[699]  

[Natsuko-neko]

Will edit the prompt in later heart  

[LittleLilyKitty]

heart  

[Kaefaux]

Quote:

Prompt 11: Strange talismans are hanging, hidden, in the tree branches in the forest. They are easy to miss, but there's something ominous about them; they are small strips of leather and wood and are marked with carvings, ink, and a strange brown stain. It is impossible to read anything on these talismans, but there is something obviously old and unnerving about them. Sometimes, when you pull one from the tree, a strange gust of wind reaches you despite none of the branches in the forest moving. In the distance, sometimes it feels like cold eyes on you. Oddly, the more talismans you recover, the more light seems to filter through the trees--at least, for a moment. There's no indication who put these talismans up, or what their purpose is. Pulling them may do as much harm as good, but there's only one way to find out what they're capable of and what their purpose is.

The choice to head out to the forest again was a completely, utterly, without question, ‘why the ******** not’ one. And entirely made in order to get away from the snarling, resource-collecting-driven Seraphinite. The small house they’d decided to take over--that is, that Seraphinite chose, after surveying what damage it’d suffered, and how plausible it’d be to patch it back up--was actually starting to look sturdy by that point. Largely due to how much time the Captain had put into things the last three days.

The first had been all about getting the main holes patched so they had a solid four walls and a roof over their heads. Then they heard a creature snuffling, growling, and screeching all through the night. Even Rigel had put more into helping to salvage from other buildings and aiding Seraphinite after that. He knew nothing of home repairs, or any such handy work, to be fair. But he could follow clear, concise directions. And if nothing else, Jericho was good at delivering clear, concise directions. Rigel's arms ached after two days of hauling wood, stone, and whatever else he could break off of neighboring houses (unoccupied ones, that is).

It had been Seraphinite who had placed down the ruling that they were not to steal from others who were just as trapped as they. And if Rigel didn't like it, he could take matters up with Jet.

Rigel hadn’t tried stealing from others, much to his own rising boredom’s disappointment.

So they’d used tools they’d found in old barns and sheds, and ripped apart the dilapidated buildings for their planks, timbers, and other such necessities to build up their temporary home. By the second night, while Seraphinite had crouched by the door they’d reinforced with a large table and various long slabs of wood, and Rigel had been all but peering out the window they’d shuttered up trying to catch a glimpse of the creature, the sounds were muffled and didn’t even tremble much when the thing screamed not far from their front door.

For Rigel, that’d been enough to ensure their house was sturdy and fine as-is. But Seraphinite had felt otherwise. He’d been effectively on the war path for home improvements since then. Usually, Rigel just tagged along, or went out hunting for supplies once he was given his daily list of what they needed for Seraphinite to implement his new updates to the structure and interior of the house. Mostly to ensure their safety, really, but some were also for comfort’s sake, like better insulation, or even better bedding or place to store food.

Really, Rigel didn’t have the right to complain. But he was bored, and genuinely ached after all the heavy lifting and helping to bang stuff into place with the freaking sledgehammer of a… well, hammer, that Seraphinite was using. Or had Rigel use when he was already busy holding planks in place or something.

So, certainly, his decision to escape for the day was, potentially to an outsider’s perspective, entirely selfish and taking for granted the amount of work his Captain was doing to make sure the two of them survived in this horror flick village.

But Rigel also was at least collecting firewood. He even had a wooden basket they’d put leather straps around and looped about in such a way to form a backpack of sorts. One he threw on--after removing the more disruptive layers of his uniform to do this--and was able to toss in fallen, dried sticks to help him carry more back. Larger branches he tucked up under his arm, unless he used the little axe Seraphinite had also given him to hack things up so he could put them into the pack.

It was another excuse, at least, to why he was wandering around the forest. Gave him more justification to not be wandering around just the village itself, why he wasn’t just being odd, or creepy, as Seraphinite frequently grumbled or sighed towards. Rigel had a purpose here.

Besides, he was curious. People often remarked the forest was… limited. It looped. You could only go so far from the village before you just… remained that distance. No matter how much you walked.

He wanted to test this for himself.

It was surprisingly quick how soon he found that trick to be true. He’d only been walking for a few minutes once he got into the forest, looked back over his shoulder, and confirmed the village was there… kept walking for a few more minutes, looked back over his shoulder to see he’d gone just a little further from the village… He repeated this a few times, and each time the distance he drew away from the village seemed miniscule, till finally it just stayed at it’s appointed location. Even speeding up, using that senshi boost of his, did nothing to break from anything. He gave a soft “Huh..” and clicked his tongue, head tilting this way and that as he took in the blatant fact nothing had changed of his view of the village since the last time he’d looked back at it.

Nor was it the most peculiar part of this whole forest.

Rigel tipped his head back somewhat, dark brow quirked as he took in the sight of… ornaments in the trees. Small, simple strips of leather and wood, bound together and carved with markings, stained with ink and… something else. Brown, whatever it was. Both his brows rose as he peered closer at that. He wasn’t familiar with whatever the language was that was carved and marked on the bits of wood and leather, but as he plucked one down from the branch it hung from, he stiffened as he felt a sudden gust of wind against his back. But… did not hear any branches swaying or clicking together from it. No leaves scattered. Nothing. He again glanced over his shoulder. Nothing behind him had shifted or stirred. Yet there was a distinct sensation along his spine that suggested something was watching him…

A smile slowly crept along his face, intrigued and fascinated. He continued along his way, never gaining any distance from the village, tossing in dead, dry sticks into his basket, and plucking down more of the ornament--talismans?--as he went. Curious, so curious, if whatever was staring at him might come out to say hello finally.




WC: 1091
Completed on Jan 03, 2021